3588 replies to this topic

[Beefster]

So what you're saying is that every time they mention Spike's crush on Rarity they shoot themselves in the foot, and in the end of "Secret of My Excess" the show died. This is what I am hearing, yes? And Hearts and Hooves day...that was Faust attempting to necromance the show out of it's grave?

(my point being that the show has already had a f***ton of romantic content. no bronies ever complained when Rarity tried to hit on Blueblood, or even earlier when she fantasized about meeting him. instead, they ate it up. And I have a little sister at home who watches the show so believe me when I say the little kids got the message loud and clear)

You make a good point except for the fact that the "romance" is played for laughs. Romance for the sake of romance bores me, which is basically what they should avoid (and what they HAVE avoided).

Why would you assume that a character is of a sexual orientation that's a majority and that she displays no signs of?

Statistics. Something is most likely to belong to the majority. It's a safe assumption even though it has the possibility of being wrong.

I'm pretty sure that most of you assume that anyone on the internet with an unknown gender is male because that's the majority; you can't call people "it" and "he/she" is pretty rude, so you just use masculine pronouns by default. Following this logic, I simply don't think it's fair to assume that Rainbow Dash is asexual (also since it's far more likely to be wrong than right). You could either assume that she's straight or avoid assumption altogether.

[ShadowTiger]

Well, there's a difference between having no choice but to call a person an "it" and deferring a personal opinion about their sexuality until a person has more information about their sexuality to make a personal opinion based on observation, hopefully rather than hearsay. (Whatever works better.)

[Fabbrizio]

You make a good point except for the fact that the "romance" is played for laughs. Romance for the sake of romance bores me, which is basically what they should avoid (and what they HAVE avoided).

Just about everything in the entire series is played for laughs. It IS a cartoon, after all. Granted, there HAVE been romantic scenes without comedy (again I cite the ending of Secret of My Excess, which actually did cause me to tear up just a little).

Statistics. Something is most likely to belong to the majority. It's a safe assumption even though it has the possibility of being wrong.

But that's just it. The writers have made her orientation extremely ambiguous, so simply to assume ANY polar orientation would be inherently wrong. It's not about majority or statistics. When I meet someone new in real life, I don't just assume they're straight. That's just as bad as assuming they're gay. Instead, I assume they are of a neutral orientation, and wait to be proven wrong. Less damage is done that way, because let's face it - not everyone thinks about romance 24/7. Plenty of straight people would rather not be labelled as straight, just as most gay people would rather not be labelled as gay. But asexuality is a neutral orientation, a gender indifference. It is capable of becoming a sort of catch-all when a person (or pony) does not show any preference in either direction, which has been Rainbow Dash's MO in the series for the last two seasons.

I'm pretty sure that most of you assume that anyone on the internet with an unknown gender is male because that's the majority; you can't call people "it" and "he/she" is pretty rude, so you just use masculine pronouns by default. Following this logic, I simply don't think it's fair to assume that Rainbow Dash is asexual (also since it's far more likely to be wrong than right). You could either assume that she's straight or avoid assumption altogether.

There's a big difference between what you consider a person to be and how you refer to them. Just because you call someone "he" by default doesn't mean you actually think they're male - it's because you want to avoid offending them and you want to pick the most likely choice. It's also generally a lot less embarrassing to refer to a girl as "he" and be corrected than to refer to a guy as "she" and be corrected.

But in this situation we're talking about a fictional character who will never have any orientation within the show. The fact remains that fictional characters are incapable of feeling offended by things the fans say.

The thing about Rainbow Dash is that regardless of her CANON orientation, she has become a bit of a mascot for the LGBT portion of the brony fandom. It's no longer about what she is, but what she represents, and if she were real I'm sure she'd be very proud to represent this part of the community.

Well, there's a difference between having no choice but to call a person an "it" and deferring a personal opinion about their sexuality until a person has more information about their sexuality to make a personal opinion based on observation, hopefully rather than hearsay. (Whatever works better.)

But in this situation, we can be almost completely certain that we won't have any further information. For the purpose of the MLP universe, Rainbow Dash will most likely never show any preference either way.

This does not, however, mean that people shouldn't write shipfics about Dash, be they straight or yuri. It's all speculative. If this were true. So long as canon keeps it ambiguous, people may choose whatever path they wish with their stories. For the sole purpose of canon, however, Rainbow Dash will never show preference in either direction, which is basically the definition of asexual.

Edited by DavidReinold, 27 May 2012 - 02:03 PM.

[Vinyl Scratch]

So I was watching the newest episode of "Teens React" when I noticed this...

Spoiler

[ShadowTiger]

Would like that shirt.


Lately I have had these videos on constantly.

Yes these three videos. Please click on these words here thanks a bunch

Music. <3

[Beefster]

The thing about Rainbow Dash is that regardless of her CANON orientation, she has become a bit of a mascot for the LGBT portion of the brony fandom. It's no longer about what she is, but what she represents, and if she were real I'm sure she'd be very proud to represent this part of the community.

But isn't that just playing the stereotype? Rainbows? Who cares? Tomboy? So what?

The only thing that can fairly be used as the LGBT symbol is RD's mane- because it essentially already WAS the symbol- a rainbow.

[Fabbrizio]

But isn't that just playing the stereotype? Rainbows? Who cares? Tomboy? So what?

The only thing that can fairly be used as the LGBT symbol is RD's mane- because it essentially already WAS the symbol- a rainbow.

You miss the point entirely. LGBT fans of the series wanted a mascot, and the glove fit. Rainbow Dash has a pride flag for a mane, so people latched on. Nothing wrong with that.

Here, let me put it like this.

Doctor Who fans have a brown stallion with an hourglass on his rear end. He seems to lightly resemble David Tennant, and fans have written countless fanfics about how he IS the 10th doctor. Is he actually the Doctor? No! He's just some background pony. But the fans have adopted him as their mascot, and there's nothing wrong with that. What makes this any different?

Edited by DavidReinold, 28 May 2012 - 03:27 PM.

[Beefster]

Okay. Good point.

I think we need a change of topic.

I just finished rewatching Mary Poppins with my mom (such a good movie!), and I think it seriously needs to be ponified (as does everything else ).

Mary Popponies: Parenting is Magic
Mary Poppins: Rarity
Bert: Spike
Jane: Sweetie Belle
Michael: Applebloom*
Mr. Banks: Filthy Rich
Mrs. Banks: Twilight Sparkle
Uncle Albert: Pinkie Pie*
The Bird Lady: Fluttershy
*Like all other ponifications, gender is swapped where necessary.

[Fabbrizio]

I dare you to look away.

[Moosh]

How is it creepy? I know three people who have tulpas and I've had conversations with said tulpas. It's pretty cool, honestly.

The thing is your mind sets aside space for controlling your thoughtform. It's not like an imaginary friend who you can get rid of at will. You're essentially giving yourself schizophrenia. If you were to end up in some form of conflict between you and your tulpa half, it could turn on you and then you're stuck with someone in your head who hates your guts...

OK, maybe not forever. I'm sure there's ways to get rid of a tulpa, but it wouldn't be as easy as saying "I don't believe in you."

Edited by Moosh, 29 May 2012 - 09:37 AM.

[Beefster]

A tulpa is essentially just an imaginary friend (for adults) as far as I can tell. It seems that evil tulpas are quite rare. Children develop them naturally- and I've only heard of one evil imaginary friend.

You could even have a Fluttershy pony tulpa if you wanted.

Edited by Beefster, 29 May 2012 - 03:53 PM.

[Geoffrey]

I never truly had any imaginary friends as a child. I had some, but I was aware that they were fabrications, and only created them because my friends had some.

The prospect of truly believing that a mental fabrication is real seems unhealthy to me. I shall not call it terrible altogether, but I can see a cavalcade of problems arising from it.

Tangently, Urban Dictionary initially told me that a 'tulpa' was an enlarged penial vein. It is good that I was informed otherwise.

Err, ponies:

This felt worthy:

Edited by Geoffrey, 29 May 2012 - 05:08 PM.

[Beefster]

You can be perfectly aware that a tulpa isn't real- It's really just your subconscious projecting an imagined sentient character into reality as you perceive it. Basically, you train yourself to hallucinate... But it has its advantages of being able to tap into the depths of your subconscious.

I'm trying to make a tulpa of a white mouse named Lenny. Why a mouse? So he can't get in the way. Actually, it's more so he can hang out on my shoulder.

Tangently, Urban Dictionary initially told me that a 'tulpa' was an enlarged penial vein.

Urban Dictionary

There's your problem.

Someone should make a Tulpa thread so we can get back to ponies.

A pony-themed Advance Wars clone might be interesting. I don't have the time for it though, so I'm just throwing it out there.

[Fabbrizio]

I like how debates keep getting started here, and the ponies are only barely relevant.

AAAAAAAAAAANYWAY

I just re-watched A Canterlot Wedding...oh gosh, it is such a good episode. Of the three double-episodes, A Canterlot Wedding is by far my favorite. The musical numbers were all beautiful (BBBFF was probably my least favorite of the three and I still loved it. This Day Aria and Love is in Bloom were both godly). In fact I had perpetual chills the entire time between when QC revealed herself to Twilight up until the part where QC took on her original form.

I'm VERY glad I pre-ordered the DVD of it on Amazon.

Edited by DavidReinold, 30 May 2012 - 10:12 PM.

[ShadowTiger]

Favorite part is still the gatling pony. :-3 That changeling battle was amazing. /)^..^(\